Chinese Paper Cut Art is a critical cultural piece in China. It is used in all kinds of celebrations including wedding, promotion and moving to a new house. The paper art will be glued on the door or window to symbolize happiness and good luck. "囍“ is an ancient Chinese word for happiness. It is also the most popular pattern used in the Chinese paper cut art. This instructable will open the door of Chinese popular art craft for you.

Skill required: Elementary level- All ages can practice
Time required: 5 minutes

Let's start! Hope you will enjoy!

Step 1: Prepare Your Tool

Get ready with tools

1. Pencil
2. Scissors
3. Red square paper
4. Ruler

Tips:
1. use pencil to draw so the marks can be erased later.
2. Red color is recommended. In the Chinese culture, red is the color that represents happiness and fortune.
3. Choose paper that is thinner. Otherwise, it will be very thick after several times folding.

Step 2: Fold the Paper

Fold the paper two times:

Firstly fold it into half and then fold again.
Now you will have a paper that is only fourth of the original size

Tips:
Make sure you press each fold line hard so later it will be easier to cut.

Step 3: Draw Cutting Lines

Tools: ruler and pencil

The drawing step will be divided into 5 sub steps. Please follow the instructions carefully.

1: Draw two straight lines through the paper using ruler and pencil: one at the 1/3 place and the other at the 2/3 place

2: Then turn the open edge side towards you and draw 3 rectangles with same sizes (width: height=1:2). One edge will line up with the edge of the paper and anther edge will line up with the straight pencil line. Leave a space between two rectangles.

* The space between two rectangles are about half of the width of a rectangle.

3: Leave a space after the third rectangle. Draw another two rectangles after that.

* The space after the third rectangle will equal to the width of two rectangles.

4: Draw two rectangles. One edge will line up with the edge of the paper and anther edge will line up with the other straight pencil line.

Now you are done with the drawing cutting line step.
You should have 7 rectangles in total-5 on one side and 2 on the other.

If you think you get the above result, move to the next step.

Step 4: Cut the Paper

Tools: scissors

Cut out the rectangles by following the yellow lines.

Cut off all the 7 rectangles carefully

Caution:

After being folded twice, the paper can be very thick. So be careful with your fingers when you cut
Cut the paper is the most tricky part. Be care and make sure you cut the right lines. Otherwise, you will get a totally different pattern. But it is also a way to be creative.

Step 5: Extend the Pattern

Simply extend the paper cut art.

Caution: after the cutting, the paper edges are sometimes sticking together. When you extend it, be tender. Otherwise, you will tear it.

You will see the final product with a very symmetric shape.

Tips:
1. Erase the pencil lines before you extend it.
2. Before you unfold it, you may want to fold the folder lines in the opposite direction. So when you open the pattern, it will lay flat on its own.

Step 6: Post It on Windows

Congratulations ! You accomplished the paper cut art.

Now , post the paper art on the window or door and introduce this wonderful piece to your friends!

Tips: In the next step, I will talk a little bit about how to be creative in the paper cut art.
If you are interested in know how to fish but not just the fish, then go to the next step.

Step 7: Be Creative in the Paper Cut Art

How to be creative in the paper cut art?

The tricky part in this type of art is two things:

Fold x how many times
Cut x how complicated the pattern is

So if you can be creative in patterns and folding times, you will discover a much larger paper cut art world.

here are some examples of how to be creative.

Always remember " Practice makes perfect"
So pick up you scissors and GO!